Mr. Kikis Lazarides is no longer the Chairman of Laiki Group after the submission of his resignation on Monday morning. According to a circular sent to the staff, Mr. Lazarides disagrees with the rapprochement of the new shareholders of Laiki in both human resources and strategy issues. Mr. Lazarides stated that he could not convince the new major shareholders on the philosophy of the Group against the staff and the alliances.

“Unfortunately, the new major shareholder has a different rapprochement on the mergers and reclassifications. The reclassifications in the capital, the assets and the management are inevitable. However, the dedication to philosophy that must govern the staff relations must co-exist with the them”, he stated.

Disagreement on valuation of Laiki Hellas

Sources reveal that the resignation of the 71-year-old Kikis Lazarides is related to the method of valuation of Laiki Hellas in the new Group that will emerge from the merger with Marfin and Egnatia and the strategic expansion of the bank in Cyprus.

In an interview to newspaper “Politis”, Mr. Lazarides, who submitted his resignation from the post of Executive Chairman in September 2005, had said (more or less) that the participation of Laiki in the new three-way Group would reach 40%.

Marfin Group, which holds 10% of Laiki shares, is the major shareholder together with Lanitis family and Tosca Fund. The Greek Group was a personal choice of Mr. Lazarides, who had declared that he would stay in Laiki for the next three years.

Developments

Mr. Lazarides also stressed the importance of the latest developments in the banking sector and the special prevailing conditions. “I wish and hope that all competent parties have a good perception of the impacts”, he concluded.